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May/june 1985 The Wolver jn<*Observer
THE MBC
CONCERT CHOIR:
Something To Be Proud Of
During the ten day period of
March 29th to April 10th, Morris
Brown College was highly
represented throughout the
Eastern States on the Morris
Brown Concert Choir’s Annual
Tour. The choir, Mr. Blynn E.
Halsey, Director, and Mrs. Bar
bara McNeely-Bouie, accom
panist traveled to Charlotte,
North Carolina, Washington,
D.C., Dover, Delaware,
Baltimore, MD, Boston, Mass.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New
York and New Jersey.
The Morris Brown Concert
Choir has distinguished itself
through radio, recordings,
television and through
appearances throughout the
South, Eastern Seaboard and
Midwest.
The Choir has had command
performances in the rotunda in
Washington, D.C., has presented
concerts in the Civic Center in
Chicago, Illinois and in the Dag-
Hammerskjold Auditorium in
the United Nations Building in
New York City. It is particularly
noteworthy that members of the
Choir were among the 100 voice
Atlanta University Center Choir
that sang for the Inaugural
Ceremonies of Jimmy Carter, an
honorary alumnus of Morris
Brown College, when he was
elected President of the United
States and that the entire Choir
membership performed when
he was elected Georgia’s Gover
nor. The Choir performed at
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
the night that Henry Aaron hit
his 715th Major League Home
Run. The group sang recently
with the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra under Robert Shaw in
a performance of “Porgy and
Bess.” The Choir has been
honored by being selected to
perform for the State Conven
tion of GMEA, Georgia Music
Educators Association and the
ACDA, American Choral Direc
tors Association.
At the lighting of the Rich's
Great Christmas Tree, this group
was the featured choir in 1982
and 1983. The choir has also been
aired recently on Channel 17 -
WTBS for a Christmas Special and
on Cable Atlanta Channel 30 this
past Christmas while performing
the Annual Christmas Concert.
Mrs. Barbara McNeely-Bouie,
accompanist for the choir, is
instructor in the Department of
Music at Morris Brown College.
A product of Spelman College
and Cincinnatti Conservatory of
Music where she earned the BA
and MM degrees in music per
formance and accompanying.
Mrs. McNeely-Bouie is also
Director of Music at Flipper
Temple African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Atlanta,
Georgia; Associate Director of
Music for the Sixth Episcopal
District (Georgia) of the African
— by Louisa McCullough i
Methodist Episcopal Church;
Accompanist and Acting Direc
tor of the Interdenominational
Theological Center Choir. Mrs.
McNeely-Bouie is listed in
Who’s Who Among American
University Students and Out
standing Young Woman of
America. She has won several
honors and is a member of Pi
Kappa Lambda Music Honor
Society, Delta Omicron Music
Fraternity, MENC, GMEA, and
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Glynn Halsey, director of the
group has won the admiration
and respect of musical peers as a
top-notch conductor. Mr.
Halsey is a product of Alabama
State University and- Georgia
State University where he receiv
ed the Bachelor and Masters
degrees in choral conducting. As
a Choir Director, Mr. Halsey has
performed in schools and
churches of St. Paul, Minnesota
before coming to the metro
Atlanta area. A frequent judge,
clinican and guest conductor
throughout the State of Georgia,
Mr. Halsey conducted the choral
music program at the Summer
Governor’s Honors Program in
Macon in 1979, at Weslyan
College and in Valdosta in 1980,
1983, and 1984 at Valdosta State
College. Active in varied
professional and community
organizations, he has been cited
by several local, regional and
national organizations, in
cluding the Outstanding Young
Man of America Award (on three
consecutive occasions; is a
member of the following: Pi
Kappa Lambda (Music Honor
Society); Kappa Kappa Phi
(National Band Fraternity);
MENC, GMEA, ACDA, MAMA,
NANM, and also a member of
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; and
past Choral Chairman for the
Georgia Music Educators
Association. He is also choir
director at Decatur High School
in Decatur, Ga. and Minister of
Music at Radcliffe Presbyterian
Church in Atlanta.
In an interview with the
Observer, Mr. Halsey said that he
would encourage as many
students who would like to sing
with the choir and learn to sing
with the choral music in its own
art form to do so. "The choir has
not always been a very large
choir. It traditionally attracts
about 40 serious students which
is not a very large choir."
Mr. Halsey has been with the
Morris Brown Concert Choir for
six years. During which he feels
the choir has progressively im
proved each year in quality and
musicianship. "I think the choir
tradition at MBC is one of the
strongest in the nation. This is
attributed to those previous
instructors of music and choir
members who care about
- themselves and the reputation of
the institution,” he said. "The
level of dedication is the main
driving force in my decision to
remain with the choir." He went
on to say that, "Morris Brown’s
College Choir has the most
unique choral sound in
America."
Mr. Halsey also has some
future goals for the choir that will
aid in the representation of the
school and expand the Concert
Choir. In addition to traveling to
parts of the United States, Mr.
Halsey would like to take the
Choir to the West Coast, South
West, Europe and the Carrib-
bean. Next year, Mr. Halsey
would also like to have concerts
for the students, faculty, and
administrators of Morris Brown.
This would consist of Fall, Christ
mas, and Spring Concerts. He
also wants to get together a Show
Choir. This Choir would do
various performances on cam
pus. What Mr. Halsey is asking
from students of Morris Brown is
support. "I want them to be
pround of the choir. They have
something to be proud of," he
quipped.
Mr. Halsey was asked what was
it he gained from being choir
director here at Morris Brown
College, he replied, "I gain
personal satisfaction in watching
Black students develop their
talents to the fullest and the
experience of meeting in
teresting and intelligent young
people. I derive satisfaction of
occasionally being musically
fulfilled and I learn about human
nature as I work with the various
personalities that make up the
choir."
The other goals that Mr.
Halsey has for the Choir is a
Scholarship Fund and a Booster
Club. This will aid in giving more
and larger scholarships to
students singing with the Choir.
To everyone involved with
Morris Brown College, Mr.
Halsey was quoted saying, "I
want all to know that every time
the Choir goes off to represent
Morris Brown College, the
students, faculty, and ad
ministration can feel assured that
the very best impression of the
institution is being made as far as
good performance, appearance,
and the best decorum. It is of the
utmost importance to the Choir
that we represent Morris Brown
College to the best of our ability
each time we leave. And we
pledge to work more intensely to
assure that only the very positive
image of the school is portrayed
on each outing."
The Morris Brown College
Choir deserves the support of
everyone and it should be
remembered as we have been
shown time and time again that
the Morris Brown College Con
cert Choir is something to be
proud of.
Page 10
MBC Commencement
Held May 19th: The
Birthday Of Malcolm X
by Akinyele Umoja
Malcolm X along with Martin
Luther King Jr. was one of the
principal leaders of the Black
Liberation Movement of the
1960’s. Born May 19, 1925 and
assasinated February 21, 1965,
Malcolm developed into a
dynamic and creative leader and
spokesperson for Black
nationalists, revolutionaries, and
large segments of the Black
Nation in North America. Even
after his death, Malcolm’s image
became a symbol of the Black
Power Movement, the revolt of
the 1960's and a model of Black
Leadership.
Malcolm's impact on the
movement for Black Liberation
and self determination can not
only be confined to the borders
of the United States of America,
but internationally.
The work of Malcolm X was a
great factor in developing unity
between the struggles of
Africans in the Western
Hemisphere and Africans on the
Motherland. Malcolm was the
only African leader from North
America ever asked to speak to
the Organization of African
Unity, which contains represen
tation of all the independent
African states. Malcolm X was
recognized by the African states
as a de-facto representative of
the National Liberation Move-
» ment in North America. In 1964,
when Malcolm addressed the
Organization of African Unity,
he warned the newly indepen
dent African countries of the
evils of American "dollarism” or
imperialism which today
strangles the economic develop
ment of Africa.
Western controlled financial
institutions like the International
Monetary Fund and the World
Bank control Africa. However,
Africa’s "politically indepen
dent” economics are virtually
controlled by the United States
and Western Europe. Malcolm
also challenged the newly in
dependent African countries to
support the struggles for dignity,
independence, and Human
Rights for the African descen
dants in North America.
Malcolm planned to mobilize
support from Africa, the Arab
world, and other Third World
countries for the Black Libera
tion Movement in the United
States. Through an international
campaign, he would bring
charges against the U.S. for
Human rights violations against
Black people in North America.
Many young Black people
today do not know who Malcolm
X was or what he believed due to
a "white out" in the media and in
the educational system. Un
derstanding this we will identify
a few of the principles that
Malcolm believed.
-Malcolm believed that Black
people inside the United States
were a (Black) nation inside a
(White) nation.
-He believed the Black nation
in America was (and is) coloniz
ed by White America, was cap
tured and kidnapped by its
oppressor and taken to the
oppressor's nation.
-Malcolm saw this colonized
and oppressed status as second
class citizenship that denied
Black people recognition as full
human beings.
"In this country the Black man
can be fifty years old and he is
still a boy” (The Black Revolu
tion, “Malcolm X Speaks, pg. 1)
-Malcolm X saw that this
colonized and oppressed posi
tion of Black people could only
be resolved through revolution.
His definition of revolution was
"...the destroying of an old
system and its replacement with
a new system" (Autobiography
of Malcolm X, pg. 367)
-Malcolm X rejected the no
tion of Black people integrating
themselves into the existing
system as revolutionary. Weeks
before his death in 196X
Malcolm X stated: "A true Negro
revolt might entail, for instance,
fighting for separate Black states
with this country...”
(Autobiography of Malcolm X,
pg. 367)
Furthermore, Malcolm believ
ed that Black people should
defend themselves from racist
violence. When certain White
Supremacist groups threatened
Martin Luther King Jr. with
violence Malcolm pledged to
send self defense units to Selma,
Alabama to protect Dr. King.
Malcolm said that if the United
States government was either
unwilling or unable to protect
Black people from the Klu Klux
Klan and other violent racists.
Black people had the right to
protect themselves by any means
necessary.
These are only a few of
Malcolm’s beliefs. Malcolm's life
and principles are an important
example of determination, dis
cipline, and dedication. It is
important that Black college
students be exposed to his
works, teaching, and develop
ment along with other Freedom
Fighters.
The evils of Malcolm's day still
confront us today. It is important
that we take up the legacy left by
Malcolm X, Martin Luther King
Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Elijah
Muhammad, and Rosa Parks to
make the World better for our
children.